This week I tried using just 1 page to plan my week. A lot of planners have 2 page weekly spreads but sometimes that’s too much space and I’m prone to over-scheduling. So this week I broke it down into a planner with sections for each specific thing to get done.. in pretty rainbow colors of course!

If you want to download the weekly planner, I’ve added it to the free printables library. I’ve also made it editable so you can choose your own categories and type them in before printing. Or try the layout a couple of times with different categories if you like!

About the planner layout

I decided to split the page into 1 with one side for blog & business, and the other for personal to do’s.

The categories I chose were:

• Top priorities to record those things that MUST get done this week. I’m prone to adding too many tasks to my planner so by using a top 3 I know what to focus on first
• Goals
• Routine tasks – such as backing up computer files, exercise etc.
• If I have time
• Blog posts
• Miscellaneous
• Product
• Events
• Meal Ideas

To add text before printing you’ll need to download adobe reader (it’s free!)

Before the pen

Love the pop of color!

I used my Arc notebook. I love using discbound planners for the flexibility to add, remove and rearrange pages as often as you like. A cheaper alternative would be to use the MAMBI Happy Planner punch and discs.

Related: How to choose a binding system for your planner (comparison and which one I like the most) 

I used the colors of my planner stickers in this week’s spread since I love rainbows and color-coordinated things. If you want to make your own planner printables and color match stickers or other stationery you have, I shared a tutorial on how to color match anything in Photoshop (I used the same method from that tutorial to match the colors of the stickers to this planner).

After the pen

I used some stickers to break up the pen

Pens used

This week I used my favorite rainbow planner pens – the PaperMate Inkjoy Gel 0.7mm. I made the planner stickers – they’re available in my sister’s shop.

Pros of 1 page weekly planner

• Having just one page was handy with everything right there in front of me – I didn’t have to flick back and forth through multiple pages of plans – it was concise and in the one place

• I liked not allocating things to certain days as I can never 100% stick to the plan and do the things I say I’m going to do on a certain day!

• Loved the rainbow colors of this spread (I just love rainbow color and planner stuff in general 🙂 Plus this planner page doesn’t use up too much color ink

• I liked not allocating a certain meal to a certain day – I’m finding myself gravitating towards doing this more often. I choose 4 to 5 meals to cook for the week, buy the ingredients for everything during a weekly shop, and then just cook whatever I feel like of those 4 – 5 meals

• I liked have the 2 separate columns for work and personal life so I could simply look either to the left or the right of the page, not here there and everywhere trying to find the next task I needed to get done

• Loved having checkboxes for each task (I think I say this every week!)

Cons of a 1 page weekly planner

• I did add a sticky note partway through the week for reminders and other things I wanted to get done since I’d filled the entire planner page at the start of the week

• While a one page weekly layout was compact, if it was a really busy week, or if I was in the middle of a product launch, I think I’d need more space

Would I use this layout again?

I loved the rainbow colors of this week’s layout and that everything was condensed onto one page. However, I’m not sure this is a planner I could use every week. I don’t think there’d be enough room to plan if I had a really busy week, plus I missed having a weekly routine / habit trackers section.

Catch up on past week’s of the challenge:

• Week 1: Using a daily habit/routine tracker to plan your week
• Week 2: Planning using daily checklists 
• Week 3: Plum Paper Vertical Planner – Better than the Erin Condren?
• Week 4: Minimalistic planning: how to plan your week using a blank notes page and stickers
• Week 5: Planning by category and task, rather than by day

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